Blog in wrong order. Before the big trip- statues, cabins and tornadoes.

A rich benefactor of the museum has decided it needs another statue of Churchill. It doesn't, but if you are giving money it seems you decide what it is spent on and most people like the big public evidence of giving.
Churchill's grand daughter, Edwina, is going to be present for the unveiling and it is generally a grand do.
I don't like the statue. I don't think it looks quite right and it blocks the view of the church.

There is already a statue next to the church, two seems excessive and inside you are tripping up over large Churchill statues all over the place. Also the stone masons have boobed and spelled descended without the 's' in the quote about an iron curtain, so they have had to place a high plant in front and hope no one notices till it can be replaced.
Also it makes him look miserable and actually if you look at photos of him, he was often laughing or had a twinkle in his eye.

This is Roland talking to Edwina.

I managed to keep my birthday quiet. I didn't want to get a whole lot of presents I'd have to take back. But I was given a farewell lunch by the president's wife with all the friends from the museum. So I now have two large presents to take back!!! so just as well I kept quiet.

We have managed to sneak in a few trips. This was to a friend that lives in a real, old log cabin in the woods. The weather was appalling. We have had so much rain in the last couple of weeks.

It was just too wet to wander around.
In the last couple of days the temperature has been rising, the humidity increasing and the weather turned stormy, not just wet. We were having dinner yesterday when the tornado sirens went off and like most people we put our heads outside the door and went back to eating our dinner. It was the middle of a pretty violent storm. The television and radio had constant updates.
The conditions are right, but they have no idea if a tornado will materialise. Then 'breaking news' came up, a term which here seems to be used rather too often, but this time it was real. The storm that passed through here had just before been through Joplin, south west of here and an enormous tornado hit the centre of the town. The death toll is over 100 and rising. Scary stuff. We seem to be having a very bad tornado year.
In fact this year in America 522 people have been killed by tornadoes, making it the deadliest tornado year since records began. Tornado season is winding down now and it's hurricane season!! Luckily, that hits another part of the country. Not so lucky for them. The weather is certainly more deadly here than back home.